THE DYNAMICS OF MULTILINGUALISM IN THE EUROPEAN UNION: EVIDENCE FROM EUROBAROMETER SURVEYS
THE DYNAMICS OF MULTILINGUALISM IN THE EUROPEAN UNION: EVIDENCE FROM EUROBAROMETER SURVEYS
Edina VÁRNAGY
1 Department of World Economy and International Business, Faculty of Economics and Business, Institute of World Economy and International Relations, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary
varnagy.edina@econ.unideb.hu
Abstract: This study examines the evolution of multilingualism in the European Union using data from the three waves of the European Commission’s Europeans and their Languages survey conducted in 2005, 2012 and 2024. The surveys provide representative, self-reported data and use a largely comparable set of questions across waves, making it possible to analyse changes in multilingualism over time. The study adopts a repeated cross-sectional design and combines descriptive and regression-based analysis to examine the overall trends in multilingualism and its distribution across socio-demographic groups. In addition to documenting changes in the proportion of respondents who report speaking at least one, two or three foreign languages, the paper investigates the persistence of language inequalities across age, education, and occupational groups, with particular attention to younger cohorts. The results show that multilingualism increased in the European Union over the period under review, although the pace of growth slowed in the later period. At the same time, substantial inequalities in language skills persist and have changed only modestly over time. Higher levels of education and more advantaged occupational positions are consistently associated with better language outcomes, while generational differences appear to have narrowed modestly. Overall, the findings largely confirm the main patterns identified in the existing literature, while also providing updated evidence based on recent EU-wide survey data. The findings suggest that the progress in multilingualism has been uneven and that improvements in overall language proficiency have not eliminated persistent social disparities. By drawing on high-quality EU survey data, this study contributes to the literature by offering an updated comparative perspective on the development of multilingualism and its social stratification within the European Union.
Keywords: economics of languages; multilingualism; foreign language proficiency.
JEL Classification: Z13; O52.
